EIT Food and EIT Health Partners identify Food4Health cooperation areas

First Food4Health workshop chooses focus areas for future projects. 

The role of nutrition in preventing disease, and in helping cancer patients maintain their health, were part of the discussion when members of the EIT Health and EIT Food communities met  on15 and 16 May in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to shape plans for cooperation in the new Food4Health programme. Participants learned more about two Food4Health projects that are already under development and discussed the four focus areas identified for future initiatives.

Food4Health, a collaboration between the two EIT Innovation Communities, EIT Health and EIT Food, was launched earlier this year to help bring innovations for healthy eating to the market.

The two top-down projects that Food4Health has already identified for 2019:

• Using indicators to influence consumer behaviour and prevent pre-disease through food and lifestyle-related interventions.
• Tackling muscle loss in cancer patients through nutrition solutions and lifestyle interventions.

Partners of both EIT Health and EIT Food can participate in a Call for Expressions of Interest to apply to join these projects.

Food4Health workshop Rotterdam

The Rotterdam workshop allowed 80 participants from the two Innovation Communities to learn more about each other, the Food4Health programme and how they can be involved. Later in the Rotterdam workshop, Partners had the chance to share ideas for potential projects within four focus areas identified for future collaboration. Based on the business case ideas that were submitted by the Partners in April, it was agreed that initially Food4Health activities should focus on:

• Nutrition for the prevention or treatment of diseases
• Food-drug interactions
• Gut microbiome
• Healthy food design

The workshop also featured presentations to inspire further cooperation in the areas of food and health. These included a lecture from EntrepreNURSE Shawna Butler on recent innovations that link food and health. She emphasised the valuable insights nurses have and encouraged everyone to involve nurses in their projects. Another interesting presentation came from Dr. Pauline Jansen from Erasmus University Rotterdam, who discussed 'fussy' and emotional eating in children.

For more information

See the Food4Health activity page or contact Hayley Every, Kerstin Burseg, or Yu-Mi Lee.